Psalm 70

Introduction

Psalm 70 is a brief, urgent cry for divine help, attributed to David. Its superscription reads "For the choirmaster. Of David. For remembrance," a heading shared only with Psalm 38:1. The phrase "for remembrance" translates the Hebrew לְהַזְכִּיר, which may indicate a prayer offered alongside the memorial portion of a grain offering (the azkarah), or it may simply be a plea for God to "remember" the petitioner and act on his behalf. This is one of the shortest psalms in the Psalter -- just five verses -- and its brevity is itself expressive. This is not a carefully composed meditation but a breathless, desperate plea from someone who does not have the luxury of lengthy prayer.

The psalm is nearly identical to Psalm 40:13-17, where these same words appear as the conclusion of a longer psalm of thanksgiving and lament. Scholars debate which version came first -- whether Psalm 70 was extracted from Psalm 40 for independent liturgical use, or whether these verses originally stood alone and were later incorporated into the longer composition. What is clear is that the community found these words so powerful that they preserved them in both forms. One notable difference is that Psalm 70 uses אֱלֹהִים ("God") where Psalm 40:13 uses יְהוָה ("LORD"). This is characteristic of the so-called "Elohistic Psalter" (Psalms 42-83), in which editors systematically replaced the divine name YHWH with the more general title Elohim -- likely for liturgical reasons, though the exact motivation remains debated. The psalm's tone is set by the verb חוּשָׁה ("hurry!"), which appears in both verse 1 and verse 5, framing the entire prayer with urgency.

Urgent Cry for Help (vv. 1-3)

Notes

The psalm opens with explosive urgency. The Hebrew of verse 1 begins with אֱלֹהִים לְהַצִּילֵנִי ("O God, to deliver me!"), an infinitive of purpose that functions almost as a bare cry -- there is no main verb in the first clause. The psalmist is so pressed that he can barely form a complete sentence. The imperative חוּשָׁה ("hurry!") comes at the end of the verse, from the root חוּשׁ, meaning "to make haste, to rush." This word carries an emotional intensity beyond ordinary requests for speed; it conveys the desperation of someone for whom delay means destruction. The parallel construction pairs אֱלֹהִים with יְהוָה -- despite the Elohistic editing of the Psalter, the divine name YHWH was retained in this verse, perhaps because the parallelism was too deeply embedded to alter without destroying the poetic structure.

In verse 2, the psalmist turns to imprecation -- prayers against his enemies. Four verbs pile up in rapid succession, each expressing a different shade of defeat and disgrace. The first, יֵבֹשׁוּ ("let them be ashamed"), is from the root בּוֹשׁ, the most common Hebrew word for shame -- the public humiliation of having one's plans exposed as futile. The second, וְיַחְפְּרוּ ("and let them be confounded/disgraced"), is from חָפֵר, a near-synonym that intensifies the shame into deep embarrassment. The enemies are described as מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשִׁי ("seekers of my life"), a phrase that implies murderous intent -- they are not merely critics but people who want the psalmist dead. The third verb, יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר ("let them be turned back"), uses the Niphal of סוּג, meaning to retreat or withdraw, combined with אָחוֹר ("backward") -- a picture of an army in panicked retreat. The fourth, וְיִכָּלְמוּ ("and let them be humiliated"), is from כָּלַם, which conveys the deepest kind of disgrace -- not just embarrassment but total loss of honor.

Verse 3 introduces a specific group: those who say הֶאָח הֶאָח ("Aha! Aha!"). This exclamation is a taunt of malicious delight, the gloating cry of an enemy who watches the psalmist suffer and revels in it. The word is an interjection expressing cruel satisfaction. The psalmist prays that these mockers will יָשׁוּבוּ עַל עֵקֶב בָּשְׁתָּם -- literally, "turn back on account of their shame." The phrase עַל עֵקֶב ("on account of, as a consequence of") uses the noun עֵקֶב ("heel, consequence"), suggesting that their own mockery will boomerang back upon them. What they dished out to the psalmist -- public shame -- will become their own portion.

These imprecatory prayers can be difficult for modern readers, but they serve an important function in the Psalter. Rather than taking vengeance into his own hands, the psalmist hands his enemies over to God. The prayers are not private curses but liturgical acts of trust -- the psalmist asks God to vindicate his cause and bring justice. Similar imprecations appear in Psalm 35:4, Psalm 35:26, and Psalm 40:14-15.

Joy for the Seekers, Help for the Needy (vv. 4-5)

Notes

The mood shifts dramatically in verse 4. Having prayed against his enemies, the psalmist now prays for the faithful. The verb יָשִׂישׂוּ ("let them rejoice") is from שׂוּשׂ, a word for intense, exuberant joy -- the kind of delight that cannot be contained. It is paired with וְיִשְׂמְחוּ ("and let them be glad"), from שָׂמַח, the most common Hebrew word for joy. Together they paint a picture of overflowing gladness. Notice the deliberate contrast with verse 2: both groups are identified by what they "seek." The enemies are מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשִׁי ("those who seek my life" -- to destroy it), while the faithful are מְבַקְשֶׁיךָ ("those who seek you" -- to worship). The same verb בָּקַשׁ ("to seek") is used for both groups, but the object of their seeking is radically different. Seeking God leads to joy; seeking to harm the righteous leads to shame.

The faithful are further described as אֹהֲבֵי יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ ("lovers of your salvation"). The noun יְשׁוּעָה ("salvation, deliverance") is the word from which the name "Jesus" (Yeshua) is derived. Those who love God's saving acts will say תָּמִיד ("continually, always") -- not occasionally, not only in moments of blessing, but as a perpetual refrain -- יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים ("let God be magnified/exalted"). The verb גָּדַל ("to be great, to be magnified") is the same root used in Mary's Magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46). To magnify God is not to make him greater than he is but to declare his greatness, to make it visible and acknowledged.

Verse 5 brings the psalm to its deeply personal conclusion. The emphatic pronoun וַאֲנִי ("but as for me") draws a sharp contrast between the rejoicing community of verse 4 and the psalmist's own present condition. He is עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן ("afflicted and needy"), a word pair that appears frequently in the Psalms and Prophets to describe those who are materially poor, socially vulnerable, and utterly dependent on God (cf. Psalm 40:17, Psalm 86:1, Psalm 109:22). The word עָנִי ("afflicted, poor") describes someone who is bowed down, oppressed, brought low by circumstances. The word אֶבְיוֹן ("needy") denotes someone in desperate want -- a person who has nothing left and must rely entirely on the generosity of another. Together these words are not merely economic descriptions but theological statements: the psalmist has no resources of his own and casts himself wholly upon God.

The imperative חוּשָׁה לִּי ("hurry to me!") echoes the identical word in verse 1, forming an inclusio -- the psalm begins and ends with the same desperate plea for speed. The psalmist then declares God to be עֶזְרִי וּמְפַלְטִי ("my help and my deliverer"). The word מְפַלְטִי ("my deliverer") is a Piel participle from פָּלַט ("to escape, to deliver"), describing God as the one who provides escape, who rescues from danger. The final plea, אַל תְּאַחַר ("do not delay!"), uses the Piel of אָחַר ("to linger, to tarry"). It is addressed to יְהוָה -- again, the personal covenant name breaks through the Elohistic editing. The psalm ends not with resolution but with raw, unresolved dependence. There is no report that the prayer was answered, no thanksgiving for deliverance, no closing doxology. The psalm simply stops, leaving the reader suspended in the cry itself. This is part of its power: it gives voice to the believer who is still waiting, still suffering, still calling out to God in the dark.

The structural symmetry of the psalm is worth noting. Verse 1 and verse 5 both contain חוּשָׁה ("hurry!"), framing the entire prayer. Verses 2-3 address the psalmist's enemies, while verse 4 addresses the faithful -- shame for the wicked, joy for the righteous. And verse 5 turns inward to the psalmist himself, the one who stands between these two groups, afflicted yet trusting.